Federer Towers Above Rest A Week From Wimbledon

By ESPN

Here we are, a week out from Wimbledon, and one name towers above all the rest. The name belongs to Roger Federer.

Shocking, right?

Andy Murray still can't seem to pull out of his swoon, while multiple-time Wimbledon winners Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal have been working on their games in semi-seclusion. Two-time champ Petra Kvitova is busy downplaying her chances (despite winning a title Sunday in Birmingham) because she is only recently back on tour after undergoing surgery on her racket hand in December. Plus, she just pulled out of Eastbourne with an abdominal injury.

Novak Djokovic and Angelique Kerber, a Wimbledon finalist last year, are both struggling stars who grabbed last-minute wild cards into this week's event in Eastbourne.

All the while, Federer has been sharpening his rapier for Wimbledon. Now 35 years old, Federer lost his opening match in a grass tournament for the first time in 15 years, when No. 302 Tommy Haas surprised Fed in Stuttgart. But that was Federer's first competitive match since he won the Miami Masters at the beginning of April.

Haas, 39, is one of the few active players who is older than Federer. The Swiss icon admitted that the loss gave him some doubts -- until Halle happened.

Federer took out his setback to Haas on all comers last week, including one of the youngest top players, 20-year-old and No. 12-ranked Alexander Zverev. Federer demolished the youth in the final with chilling ease, 6-1, 6-3 in just 53 minutes.

"Let that [earlier loss] be forgotten," Federer said to the press after he dismissed Zverev. "I actually can win on grass."

In other news, night follows day.

Wimbledon can be a perilous journey, as Djokovic learned last year in his third-round loss to Sam Querrey. Thus began the great unraveling that Djokovic hasn't convincingly halted yet. The beleaguered No. 2 ought to get back on track in Eastbourne; the next-highest-ranked player is No. 16 Gael Monfils.

Still, no matter what Djokovic does this week, Federer has seized the pre-Wimbledon narrative. His status was further enhanced by the bloodbath that occurred at Queens Club, where last year's Wimbledon finalists Andy Murray and Milos Raonic -- and No. 3 Stan Wawrinka -- were eliminated in Round 1.

It looks as if Federer's decision to forgo the entire Euroclay season at the risk of losing the momentum he built from January through March was a smart play.

"I'm mentally fresh again," he said. "And I'm used to match play."

Theoretically, Federer has a leg up on Djokovic and Nadal, thanks to the Swiss' long-term vision. There's always a sense that a top player is in a panic when he or she asks for a last-minute wild card. It's a particularly tempting conclusion when you look at the record of the other prominent late entrant in Eastbourne: Kerber.

With his win in Halle, Federer captured his ninth title at the event. He said he was on cloud nine, partly because he said he's not sure he'll ever win there again.

That scenario seems as unlikely as night failing to follow day.